per capita

American  

[per kap-i-tuh] / pər ˈkæp ɪ tə /

adjective

1. by or for each individual person.

   income per capita.

2. Law. noting or pertaining to a method of dividing an estate by which all those equally related to the decedent take equal shares individually without regard to the number of lines of descent.

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per capita British  

/ pə ˈkæpɪtə /

adjective

1. of or for each person

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per capita Cultural  

1. A Latin phrase literally meaning “by heads,” and translated as “for each person.” It is a common unit for expressing data in statistics. A country's per capita personal income, for example, is the average personal income per person.

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Etymology

Origin of per capita

1675–85; < Latin: literally, by heads

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

per capita

Several studies suggest that GDP per capita has declined by at least 6%, a serious recession in a period when most other major nations have seen modest economic growth.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

The designation would require a gross annual income per capita above $4,000 dollars, compared with present $2,700.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

One exception to this pattern was Singapore, which had the highest GDP per capita of the countries surveyed and a high level of positivity towards China.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Annual per capita beef consumption hit 59.3 pounds in 2025, the highest in 15 years.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

In a population of about eleven million, the country boasted more doctors per capita than any other country in the world, and twice as many per capita as the United States.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French